Everyone wants Oprah

I learned long ago that an important part of PR is managing expectations, whether it’s from a client or company executives. In my very first client meeting at my internship with a fabulous student-managed PR agency, my client let me know (in all seriousness) they wanted to be on Oprah. I immediately thought to myself, “sure, everyone wants Oprah.”

Times Square from my iPhone

In the years since that first meeting, I’ve had other clients with the same request. Of course I’d love to get every client, product or cool story idea on Oprah, but so does every other PR pro. Part of our job is to help our clients, supervisors and stakeholders understand realistic, achievable PR goals and plans. Oprah is not be realistic or appropriate for every pitch, product or idea.

Being on the West Coast makes it additionally challenging to make connections with writers and editors on the East Coast. Being in New York for a California Tourism media event presented a great opportunity to make new connections. Yesterday, I had the chance to pitch the Food Editor at O, The Oprah Magazine for my organization and our destination. This was by far the biggest opportunity in my PR career.

Our team spent two weeks researching and preparing for this meeting that lasted about 15 minutes. Just 15 minutes. To describe the agriculture, culinary trends and wine scene in our area in 15 minutes is not an easy task. 150 years of wine history, award-winning restaurants and inventive restaurateurs made for a jam-packed 15 minutes!

It was a great learning moment for me as a young professional. These editors get countless e-mails and dozens of pitches everyday. It is important to be concise but descriptive. Our job is not only to showcase the attractions of our region, but also the character and vibe a visitor would experience. Being able to set our area apart from so many other wine regions can only be done by demonstrating the charm and character.